Author Archive

Moving from Hectic to In Control

Recently one of CompassCare’s Executive Coaches, Mary Rutherford, wrote an email to an executive in training.  I asked for permission to represent it here so that everyone could catch a brief glimpse into the specific mechanics of how a medical PRC becomes optimized within the reality of our hectic lives as PRC executives.

Mary writes:

One of the most brilliant teaching strategies of Jim Harden is the ICL (Implementation Checklist).  Each of the tasks is designed to help you to reach your Thematic Goal of Optimizing your three major departments.

One of the most brilliant decisions you made as the Director of your Center, was to invest your time in the Optimization Training!

I understand in talking with you, that you are being pulled in many directions. This will not stop.

To make the most of your investment, it is critical that you set aside time every day to work on the tasks listed on your ICL. Fill in the tasks completed, not only for us, but for you to see your own progress.

The sooner you make the ICL a priority in your day, the faster your optimization will take place!  You will be amazed at how orderly life is when you are optimized.

From an OT Executive to a future OT Executive:  When you are optimized, you are truly in the control seat!

Solving Most PRC Vulnerablities: Moving from Global to Linear

Now that we have identified the most common and most damaging vulnerabilities in the medical pregnancy resource center (PRC) what should we do?  What is the next best step?  Listen to Jim Harden teach PRC executives about the paradigm shift required to move from our current global services format to a step by step linear service platform.  It is the best way to reach and serve women seriously considering abortion. 

NOTE:  Before listening to this podcast it is strongly recommended that you first listen to the podcasts dealing with the specific PRC vulnerabilities related to misinformation, misrepresentation, moral entrapment, lack of accountabilty and mission focus.

PRC Vulnerabilities: Lack of Accountability and Mission Focus

Have you ever felt out of control not knowing what your counselors are saying in the counseling room or on the helpline?  Do your nurses feel insecure regarding what is being said or not said by the counselors?  What you may be experiencing is a lack of organizational accountability.  And often a lack of accountability can be traced back to a lack of mission focus.  Listen to Jim Harden as he trains other PRC executives regarding these two common pitfalls.

Moral Entrapment: A Major PRC Flaw

Not many people or training organizations have addressed the issue of moral entrapement in the medical pregnancy resource center.  Yet it seems to happen on a regular basis in the prc movement both in the counseling room and with medical services.  If you don’t know what it is the chances are high that this dangerous and organizationally compromising tactic is happening in your organization.  Listen to Jim Harden define moral entrapment and passionately provide real examples calling the movement back to integrity and excellence.  Every PRC Executive needs to hear this as it is not being adequately addressed.

2 Key Vulnerabilities: Misinformation and Misrepresentation

Listen to Jim Harden give a straight shooting talk to medical pregnancy resource center executives regarding two common areas of internal vulnerability; misinformation and misrepresentation.  Executives can learn what the terms mean whether or not your organization is vulnerable in these areas.

How Mature Is Your PRC and Is Leadership Related?

Listen to Jim Harden coach medical PRC executives regarding understanding overall organizational maturity, leadership and calling.  This is the fourth podcast in a series being released the second week of August.  Some of what Jim says could be considered controversial so feel free to post your comments.

Doing Things Right

What is the role of fertility theologically and why is that important to understanding the medical PRC’s role in the world?  Click the following link to listen as Jim Harden, M.Div talks with medical PRC Executives:

What about sharing the gospel?

Recently there has been a great deal of debate over what the exact role of the medical pregnancy resource center is when it comes to the Great Commission.  Many official statements have been made from National figures and organizations in the movement and many local medical PRCs have debated internally regarding the overall focus of the organization on the the formulaic sharing of the gospel message with patients.  Should it be articulated in the mission statement that organizations ‘share the gospel’ as a primary reason for existence?  There are many positions on this very crucial issue most of which most have been formulated by lawyers or laypeople who are theologically untrained.  What exactly is the Great Commission and what should its role be in the medical PRC?  Listen as Rev. James Harden, M.Div, theologically trained at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Chicago, IL discusses the theological context of the Great Commission and what that then means for us as Executives and the organizations we run.  Click the following link to listen in…

Strengths of the PRC Movement

Investigations of pregnancy resource centers (PRC’s) have been attempted in New York and Oregon recently!  We know that the PRC movement has several strengths such as resources, passion, and positioning for rapid growth.  But for all that, could our vulnerabilities hinder us from accomplishing our mission to erase the need for abortion if an investigation at a state or federal level were to occur?  What are those vulnerabilities and how can we fix them in order to safeguard the future of our organizations?  Click on the link below to listen in on the first of several in a series of talks as Jim describes the strengths and vulnerabilities of the PRC movement.

Latest from Omaha, NE

Recently Michelle Sullivan and Barb Malek in Omaha, NE sent CompassCare an encouraging summary of the results they have been seeing regarding reaching more women at-risk for abortion after implementing a linear patient service platform. It reads as follows:

2007 vs. 2008 statistics

For the 2nd quarter (April, May, June) of 2008 we saw 224 patients for pregnancy tests (This does not include retests. Some were patients we had seen in the past, but this was a new pregnancy for them.) Of these, 131 were positive tests, and 93 were negative. This means that 58% of all our tests were positive tests. (I wish I could break that down into those that were strongly abortion minded, but, unfortunately, that would be a lengthy process, and I do not have time. With our new database, we will know this information easily. However, we all know from experience that the number of those patients has risen quite dramatically.)

By comparison, in the 2nd quarter of 2007, we saw 172 patients for pregnancy tests. Of these 85 (or 49%) were positive. This is an increase of 23% more patients, and, even more importantly, an increase of 35% more positive pregnancy tests over 2007.

Lastly, I would like to compare June 2007 to June 2008. In June of 2007, we saw 55 total pregnancy test patients. In June of 2008, we had 54 positive tests, and saw a total of 90 patients. (In June of 2006, we only saw 27 patients for new pregnancy tests, with only 12 positive tests. By the way, these were the statistics that drove us to seek out a new way of doing things. As a result, we found CompassCare. God is good!)